How to enable multi-language Shopify invoices

When your store serves customers in different countries, sending invoices in their own language creates a more professional and trustworthy experience. Invoice Falcon's multi language feature lets you set a default invoice language for your entire store or automatically detect each customer's preferred language from their Shopify profile. All invoice labels — from "Invoice" and "Subtotal" to "Shipping" and "Total Due" — are translated into the selected language, so every customer receives a document they can understand without any manual effort on your part.

How Multi Language Works

Invoice Falcon translates all built-in labels and headings on your invoices into the selected language. Here is what gets translated and how the system determines which language to use.

What gets translated

When you change the invoice language, all standard labels on the invoice are translated automatically. This includes:

• Document title — "Invoice", "Credit Note", "Quote", "Packing Slip", "Pro Forma Invoice"
• Header fields — Invoice number, Order, Order Date, Issue Date, Due Date, Payment Terms, PO Number, Status, Amount
• Address headings — Supplier, Ship To, Bill To, Shipping Address, Billing Address
• Line item columns — Item, Unit Price, Discount, Tax, Tax Amount, Quantity, Total, SKU, HS Code, Barcode, Variant, Weight, Compare At, Description
• Totals section — Subtotal, Discount, Shipping, Tax, Total, Refunded, Net Payment, Total Paid, Total Due, Discount Code, Total Quantity, Total Weight
• Other labels — Notes, Customer Note, Payment Method, Shipping Method, Follow Us On, Paid, Unpaid, Amount in Words, Tracking Company, Tracking Numbers

What does NOT get translated

The following content stays in its original language regardless of the language setting:

• Product names and descriptions — these come directly from your Shopify product listings
• Customer names and addresses — pulled from the Shopify order as-is
• Custom label overrides — if you have overridden a label in the Labels section of the Visual Editor, your custom text is used instead of the translated version
• Order notes and footer notes — custom text you or your customer entered stays in its original language
• Store name and domain — always displayed as configured in Shopify

Set a Default Invoice Language

Every store has a default invoice language that applies to all invoices. Follow these steps to change it from English to any of the 26 supported languages.

1. Open the Invoice Falcon app from your Shopify Admin.
2. Click Settings in the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Click on Document Defaults
4. In the Invoicing language section, open the "Select the language used for invoices" dropdown menu.
5. Choose your preferred language from the list of 26 supported languages.
6. Click Save in the save bar at the top of the page to apply the change.

All invoices generated after saving will use the selected language for their labels and headings. The default language is English.

Supported Languages

Invoice Falcon supports 26 languages for invoice labels. Here is the full list of available languages and their locale codes.

Enable Automatic Language Detection

For stores that serve customers in multiple languages, Invoice Falcon can automatically detect each customer's preferred language and generate their invoice in that language. This feature is available on both plans

How automatic language detection works

When enabled, Invoice Falcon checks the customer locale field on each Shopify order. This is the language the customer used when browsing and checking out on your store (set by Shopify based on the customer's browser language or your store's Shopify Markets language settings). Invoice Falcon uses this locale to select the correct translation for that customer's invoice.

The detection follows this logic:

1. Customer locale available and supported — the invoice is generated in the customer's language (e.g., a French-speaking customer gets labels in French).
2. Customer locale available but not supported — the invoice falls back to your default invoice language (e.g., if the customer's locale is Hindi, which is not in the 26 supported languages, the default is used).
3. Customer locale not available — the invoice uses your default invoice language. This can happen with manual orders, POS orders, or very old orders.

Enable automatic detection

1. Open the Invoice Falcon app from your Shopify Admin.
2. Click Settings in the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Click on Document defaults
4. In the Invoice language section, look for the checkbox below the language dropdown.
5. Check the box labeled "Enable automatic language detection to generate invoices based on customer's language". The help text confirms: "Generate invoices in the customer's language using their Shopify profile (supports 23 languages)."
6. Click Save in the save bar at the top of the page.

How automatic detection interacts with the default language

When automatic language detection is enabled:

• The default language dropdown still serves as the fallback. If a customer's locale cannot be determined or is not in the supported list, the invoice uses whatever language you selected in the dropdown.
• You should set the dropdown to your store's primary language (e.g., English for a US-based store, German for a Germany-based store) so that fallback invoices are still in a sensible language.
• Each invoice stores its resolved language at generation time. If you later change the default language, previously generated invoices keep their original language unless regenerated.

How Translated Labels Appear on the Invoice

To help you understand what a translated invoice looks like, here are examples of common labels in a few languages.

These translations are built into Invoice Falcon and apply automatically when the invoice language changes. You do not need to enter any translations manually.

Combine Multi Language with Other Features

The multi language feature works well with other Invoice Falcon settings for a fully localized invoice experience.

• Multi currency — pair language detection with multi currency (in the Invoice currency section) so invoices show both the customer's language and their local currency. A German customer would see labels in German and amounts in EUR.
• Custom labels — if you override a label in the Labels section of the Visual Editor (e.g., changing "Tax" to "VAT"), your custom label takes priority over the translated version. This is useful for region-specific terminology that the built-in translations may not cover.
• Custom email template — note that the custom email template (subject and body) is written in one language. If you use automatic language detection, the invoice PDF will be in the customer's language but the accompanying email text will be in whatever language you wrote the template in.

Known Limitations

• Only 26 languages are supported. If a customer's locale is not in the supported list (e.g., Hindi, Arabic, Thai), the invoice falls back to your default language.
• Only invoice labels and headings are translated. Product names, descriptions, customer data, custom notes, and store information remain in their original language.
• Custom label overrides in the Labels section of the Visual Editor take priority over translations. If you have set a custom label, it will display as-is regardless of the invoice language.
• The customer locale is determined by Shopify at checkout time based on the customer's browser language or your Shopify Markets settings. Invoice Falcon cannot change or override the customer's locale.
• The email language setting (separate from invoice language) is not yet available in v3 — it is marked as coming soon. Currently, the invoice PDF language and the email language share the same setting logic.
• Draft orders may not have a customer locale set. Invoices for draft orders will use your default language.
• Changing the default language does not retroactively update already-generated invoices. You must regenerate invoices from the Orders page to apply the new language.

Troubleshooting

FAQs

Q: Do I need a paid plan to change the default invoice language?
A: No. The default language dropdown is available on all plans, including the free plan. You can choose any of the 26 supported languages.

Q: How does Invoice Falcon determine a customer's language?
A: It reads the customer_locale field from the Shopify order, which Shopify sets based on the language the customer used during checkout (their browser language or your Shopify Markets language settings). The first part of the locale code is matched against the 26 supported languages.

Q: Can I translate product names and descriptions on the invoice?
A: No. Product names and descriptions are pulled directly from your Shopify product listings and are not translated by Invoice Falcon. To show product names in multiple languages, you would need to manage multilingual product content in Shopify using a translation app.

Q: What happens if I set a custom label and also enable a different language?
A: Custom labels always take priority. If you set "Tax" to "VAT" in the Labels section, it will show "VAT" regardless of the selected language. To use the translated version, clear the custom label field (leave it blank).

Q: Can I use automatic language detection and a custom email template at the same time?
A: Yes, but the custom email template is written in one language. The invoice PDF will be in the customer's detected language, but the email subject and body will use whatever language you wrote in the custom template.

Q: Will changing the language affect the numbers and currency format on the invoice?
A: No. The language setting only affects labels and headings. Number formats, currency symbols, and amounts are controlled separately by your store's currency settings and the multi currency feature.

Q: How do I add a language that is not in the supported list?
A: Currently, only the 26 built-in languages are supported. If you need a language that is not listed, contact Invoice Falcon support to request it. As a workaround, you can manually override all labels in the Labels section of the Visual Editor to your desired language.

Q: Does the language setting affect packing slips and quotes too?
A: Yes. The language setting applies to all document types — invoices, credit notes, quotes, pro forma invoices, and packing slips. The document title (e.g., "Invoice" becomes "Facture" in French) and all labels are translated.

Updated on: 20/05/2026